Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit

The story

The Silver Spirit put a lower, wider, more modern body on the Silver Shadow's mechanical parts. It carried Rolls-Royce through the boom years of the 1980s. The Bentley version became the Mulsanne and then the Turbo R.

Inside

As ever, the finest leather and veneer, with more glass and more room than the Shadow.

In period colours

Tap a colour to respray the drawing.

Meanwhile, in 1980

The SAS stormed the Iranian Embassy in London, live on television.

Best-selling single of 1980: Don't Stand So Close to Me by The Police

Before you buy a 1980s car

• Check for rust in the usual places, though many cars from this decade were better protected.
• Electrical and fuel system faults are common, so test everything.
• Parts for mass-market cars are usually easy to find.

General notes, not specific to this model. Check the model's own history before buying.

Rivals of its day

Picked automatically: cars on sale at the same time with similar size, speed and price.

See the real thing

These open in a new tab: the car on Wikimedia Commons, the interior and the badge as Google image searches.